


Another Life

by Parchment_and_a_Song



Category: Fate: The Winx Saga (TV)
Genre: Angst, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Hurt/Comfort
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-18
Updated: 2021-03-11
Packaged: 2021-03-14 19:46:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 3,971
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29547447
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Parchment_and_a_Song/pseuds/Parchment_and_a_Song
Summary: Rosalind makes Saul, Ben, and Farah teach at Alfea a few years after they graduate to strengthen the skills of the new students at the school. What happens to our trio when a few students venture out beyond the barrier, where Burned Ones roam freely, and they race to help them?
Relationships: Farah Dowling/Saul Silva
Comments: 19
Kudos: 65





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> First fic! Phew. I had this idea in my head for a while before I decided to just jump off the deep end and write it. A great thanks to the wonderful MissJessicaAndie for being the first to read this and be my sounding board. You’re the best x
> 
> Hope you enjoy!

They were trapped. The students were lured passed the barrier by some figure, and now they were surrounded by Burned Ones.

The battle began in an instant, and, in the next few, there were Burned Ones falling to the left and right of him. Saul tried his best not to get scratched as he fought them. He was simultaneously trying to keep an eye on Ben and Farah, who were not far behind him fighting their own onslaught of Burned Ones.

The three of them tried to protect the students as best as they could when the Burned Ones started advancing on them, but they did not expect to face so many, considering how close they were to the barrier. There were no soldiers backing them up, Farah, Ben and himself being the only adults for miles.

He had been fighting for a while when he heard a pained cry from behind him, and, if he didn’t know from that voice, he knew who it was from the dull pain he felt right below his heart. She was wounded.

Saul fought to reach her, “Farah!” He managed to destroy the Burned Ones he was facing, and ran in the direction of her fallen figure, which was only safe from the battle around her because of the shield she raised and the students, who were fighting the Burned Ones approaching her. Her shield was faint, though-he could tell. He knew that meant that it was serious. Saul was always amazed by Farah's strength in the face of immense pain, especially knowing the boundaries Rosalind always made her push. He also knew it took a lot for her to be struggling like this, which is what made his heart drop to his stomach. She had to be ok.

He ran behind Ben, nodding to his friend as he held off the creatures with the students. They had created a formation that blocked Farah, and now Saul, from the attacks.

He raced the distance to reach her and put his hand up, quickly disabling the shield. He choked out a gasp when he saw the state of her.

She was breathing hard, and there was dark red blood coating the area right below her heart. The injury was deep. It was grave, and they both knew it.

Through short, gasping breaths, she called his name, “Saul,” her hand shook as she held it out for him. He immediately took it once he knelt down next to her, trying to cradle her head in his lap.

Tears started to burn behind his eyes, but Saul tried to keep his composure as much as he could, wanting Farah's final moments to be more than her trying to brush the tears away from his cheeks and wasting her precious breath consoling him. No, he had to be there for her now.

“What happened?” He managed, though his voice was heavy with emotion.

“The Burned Ones,” every sharp and shallow inhale made her wince, and Saul didn’t think he could be in this much pain without actually being hit, “They were surrounding the students. One of them was about to claw them from the back, so I,” she paused to catch her breath, her words draining her faster by the second, “ran to them to-” she gasped quietly in pain, unable to continue.

For all his efforts, a few tears fell down his face, “Oh, Farah,” he whispered.

“It’s ok, Saul.”

“No, it isn’t,” He shook his head, “This is wrong. We weren’t prepared- I should’ve known,” he got out through a clenched jaw, trying to keep in the sob that was fighting to come out. He looked up slightly, “I could’ve-“ he knows he couldn’t actually have done anything, but he was desperately trying to find someone to blame, trying to find out where they went wrong.

Farah placed her other hand on his cheek, turning his head so that his eyes were looking directly into hers. Expression serious, yet caring, she mustered the rest of her strength, “No, Saul. There is _nothing_ you could’ve done. Alright? I don’t want you blaming yourself for this. _Please._ This is _not_ your fault. If we hadn’t come here, Marcus, Ilah - these students - would not have been alive right now.”

He knew she was right, but he couldn’t bear to agree that this was the only right path. This one, that lead to him holding her as she struggled to take her last breaths. He could only lower his head so that it hovered above her body, taking in her presence, trying to remember what it was to be around her. The calm she projected, even in the worst of times Farah tried to comfort him somehow, her spirit, her warmth.

Not far behind him he could hear Ben calling to a student, telling her to get away from something.

Tilting his head, he saw Ilah moving towards a shining light that glowed several meters away from them.

It only took a moment to determine what he had glimpsed behind that light before it hit him.

He turned. “ _NO, DON’T!_ ,” but it was too late.

There was a flash of light.

Then nothing.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok, so this is a little shorter, but I wrote it with the first chapter and thought it would be cool for it to stand alone XD. Chapters will generally be longer after this. :)
> 
> Hope you like it! Let's see what happened *smiles excitedly and hands you second chapter* ...

Saul came to slowly, feeling the comfort of warm sheets wrapped around him, and he wondered how he got off of the battlefield, let alone into a bed.

Before he could even begin to guess, he realized he wasn’t alone when he felt the rustle of the bedcovers from right next to him.

His jaw dropped.

The back of a woman with dirty blonde waves rolling over one shoulder turned to show the face of the person he thought he had lost forever.

She smiled groggily and stretched, “Mm, good morning,” she ran a hand through her waves.

Eyes finally adjusting to the morning light, she took in his expression and gave him a weird look that was softened by her amused and playful smile, “What? Why are you making that face?”

He was speechless. Not minutes before, he thought he had lost his soulmate. He thought he would never be able to tell her how he felt, how he had felt for a very, very long time. And, now, the woman who held every bit of his heart and his soul was sitting up next to him, in his bed, acting as if nothing was amiss, as if this was just a regular day.

Farah yawned, tossing the bedcover away from her to stand up. She then turned from him, her long, navy blue sleepshirt swirling slightly, and she headed to the bathroom to get ready for the day. She was putting her hair up in a bun when she addressed him, “Harmony is going to stop by here in 20 minutes before we go down to the courtyard to greet the new students, so please get ready now rather than later,” she grinned and walked into the bathroom, shutting the door.

Saul stared at the door for another moment, his body struggling to process his shock, grief being pushed back in the face of incredulity.

After what felt like an hour, but was actually a few seconds, Saul sat with his legs out in his bed, hands running down up and down his face.

This was going to be an interesting morning.

Now all he had to do was get dressed, and see where he was before he could make a decision on his next course of action, on how to find out what the hell just happened and where on earth he was.

Then the thought hit him. _‘Harmony?’_


	3. Chapter 3

Saul took it as his cue to start getting ready after Farah had exited the bathroom in a sleek black, long-sleeved dress and her hair parted to the side and into a bun, with a few strands framing her face. She looked different, now that he was able to focus on something other than the events of the last hour. The fact that the last thing he remembered before waking up in a warm bed was following a bunch of students into the forest beyond the barrier, fighting a group of Burned Ones, holding a dying Farah in his arms, and a flash of light blinding everything in view had made it a little hard to focus on anything else. Now that he was able to take in his surroundings, he started noticing the little things that were different here, and some that were almost the same.

This Farah was different to his, yet very similar. While his Farah sported her hair in a ponytail or let her hair down, this Farah seemed to have a similar, yet more muted style, which still managed to emanate a distinguished power. She also seemed to be a bit older, with a few smile lines at the corners of her eyes and the top of her lip, but she was as beautiful as ever. She would always be dazzling to him. One thing he noticed in particular was that, in this world, Farah seemed to be happier than he remembered, yet she held a shadow, a weight, behind her expression and her eyes, at times, that he had never seen in his world’s version of her. He wonders what happened.

He had just finished taking a shower and getting dressed in the bathroom, when he opened the door and heard someone knocking at the entrance to their compartment.

“I’ve got it,” Farah called as she walked to the door. He exited the bathroom to see a blur of brown hair and blue and maroon clothing move to the sofa. He followed behind Farah who had her arms crossed with a smile on her face.

The blur sat down, crossed her ankles and leaned her arms back on the couch.

“Is he ready yet?” the figure teased. Saul was sure he was dreaming now. There was no way this was really happening.

_She was the spitting image of a young Farah._

“Surprisingly, yes,” this Farah turned to him with a slight smirk, eyes dancing with amusement and something else…

The figure – _‘Harmony’_ he thought – got up with an “Umph” and smiled. “Alright, then! Let’s go meet our new changeling friend!” She exclaimed brightly as she leaped from her seat and started for the door.

Saul was at a complete loss, for words, for movement. Things just kept getting stranger and stranger, more confusing, the more he heard them. 

_Changelings? Are those not from myth?_

Saul was left to come up with his own answer as the two women led the way out of the compartment and into the hall, heading to the common room where all the students would be gathering.

There was too much going on for Saul to wrap his head around, but there was one thing that seemed to be circling his mind with more urgency than the rest.

 _‘Who was this girl and why did she look so much like Farah?’_ His thoughts persisted.

_‘Is she a relative? Does Farah have any sisters? She never spoke of any, and Rosalind made it sound as if she was an only child. Then, Rosalind would not have cared either way- she would have gotten Farah as her student no matter what.’_

Then a painful thought hit him, _‘What if she’s Farah’s? If this is truly a different world than his, she could’ve married.’_ He, then, remembered the rather obvious fact that he had just woken up next to her that morning. He shook his head. It truly was a startling series of events to have made him forget _that_ quite _major_ detail. He knew that there was always an unspoken thing between him and Farah, but neither ever acted on it, too fearful of ruining the beautiful, close friendship they had built. 

If she were to be with someone in order to have a child of this age, she must’ve met someone not long after the battle to save the students outside the barrier. _‘It was the future- maybe she had met someone. This girl, Harmony, looked as if she was on the cusp of 21. That would mean that Farah would have had to have her not two years after the events of the Burned One attack that he had just faced with her. The last he saw her, she was laying on the ground, fatally injured, and now he sees her, an older version of her, and it seems as though she has a child?’_

 _‘Who’s the father then?’_ Saul wondered, as his world’s Farah must’ve been around him already then, or maybe he might’ve known him? It would be the only thing to make sense, as the four of them – Ben, Andreas, Farah, and himself – had been isolated in their training with Rosalind, and he was sure there was nothing between Andreas and Farah. Ben was clearly with Rose, and a very close, platonic friend to the mind fairy, so the thought did not -needn't not - cross his mind. With Andreas and Farah, he would’ve seen that by now, and he knows that Andreas, being as close to him as he was, would’ve given it away. No, it had to be someone they met recently. Maybe Farah had met someone later when they were set to start teaching at Alfea? The thought hurt his heart.

He was drawn out of his introspection and mulling when he heard Farah murmur something to Harmony who walked off in the direction of the front gates, toward the entrance of the fairy hall. Off to meet the changeling, he presumed. He would have to ask Farah about that.

For now, he decided it was best to just blend into his surroundings and try to figure out who he knew here, so he followed Farah as she led the two of them towards the administrative staff.

“Ben!” Farah exclaimed happily as they neared a circle of older men and women that seemed to be wrapped up in a lively conversation. A bald man with glasses turned to Farah and smiled, turning his body to face them, an invitation to stand in the space he created that was gratefully accepted by Farah and himself.  
_‘Thank God Ben is here…when did he lose all his hair?’_ Saul thought as they greeted their old friend. At least some things never changed.


	4. Chapter 4

_“Ben!” Farah exclaimed happily as they neared a circle of older men and women that seemed to be wrapped up in a lively conversation. A bald man with glasses turned to Farah and smiled, turning his body to face them, an invitation to stand in the space he created that was gratefully accepted by Farah and himself._

_‘Thank God Ben is here…when did he lose all his hair?’ Saul thought as they greeted their old friend. At least some things never changed._

“Saul, Farah,” Ben greeted them with a relaxed smile as they walked up to him, the group of teachers in front of them continued the conversation as he started one with his friends, “How are you two today?” 

Farah responded in greeting, “Oh, we’re doing fine. We just sent Harmony off to greet the new student we spoke about, Bloom. I believe I mentioned to you that she was from the Firstworld.” 

Ben nodded his head, “Ah, yes, I remember. Must be shocking going into a whole new world. Though, I’m sure, with Harmony, she’ll feel at home in no time.” He knew that Harmony would look out for this girl just as she always looked out for Terra. She always had a way of making people feel welcome and comfortable. Even from when they were little, Harmony had included her in any and every event she could and made the girl open up with her kind demeanor. He recognized the smart choice that Farah had made, but he couldn’t help but tease them. “I just hope that she doesn’t also lead her too far down into the party scene,” he smirked up at his friends, referencing _the incident_ in which the Farah and Saul had busted Harmony trying to bring a load of beer bottles out to the east wing in her second year and had went to Ben to complain about what they had to deal with. He only received a smile from Saul and a raise of an eyebrow from Farah, though he could see the ghost of a smirk playing at her lips, in response to his cheekiness. 

“Are you ready for the new term? I can imagine it’s a bittersweet one,” he gave them a sympathetic and knowing look, “what with it being Harmony’s last year at Alfea. Has she told you of her plans yet?” 

Farah sighed a bit longingly as she smiled back at her friend, “Yes,” her voice faintly displaying the bittersweet nature of the sentiment, “It’s still so strange to wrap my head around. It feels like just yesterday she was running around with Sam and Sky and was adamant about carrying a baby Terra.” She hummed a laugh at the memory, the thought drawing a smile upon her friend’s face as well. 

“We aren’t entirely sure of Harmony’s plan, but she has always been so inspired by her grandmother’s past that she might head in her footsteps,” Farah shared with their longtime friend, “I know she’s loved adventure for as long as I can remember.” 

_‘Her grandmother? Maybe her father’s? He knew Farah’s parents-‘_ Saul’s thoughts were interrupted when Ben said his farewell, putting a hand on his shoulder in goodbye as he passed them. He headed towards the greenhouse, going to prepare some plants for some of the more advanced training of the Specialists, while Saul's eyes caught two figures heading past the common room towards the administrative hall, one of them newly familiar. 

When he caught the wink and smile that the Harmony sent them as she led the fiery haired, fresh eyed first year to the Headmistress’ office, he felt a tug in his mind. That look- why did it seem so familiar to him? He’d seen someone do that, look _exactly_ like that, he just had to pinpoint who. 

Once it hit him, he felt his heart stop for a second then pick up pace. A memory flooded his mind.

_“Saul!” Mera called to him from their opened front door, “Saul! You’re going to be late if we don’t leave now!”_

__

__

_“I’m coming, I’m coming!” He rushed out of his room towards the door, passing the kitchen to grab his things and fumbling them as he walked with his mother towards the opened door._

__

__

_Mera watched her son struggle to get himself together with a smile that she tried to hide by tilting her head to the greenery around them. It was a big day for him, being chosen as one of the best in combat and artillery in the Otherworld. Alfea only selected the best of the best, and she knows that he had been training for years so that he’d be good enough to be admitted. Ever since his father’s death, he’d made it his mission to become a Specialist, to become someone who could protect others and protect her. After the loss they faced - after their life had changed-, she noticed how he’d be outside till the sun had long since gone down, practicing and practicing so that he’d be ready when the examination would come._

_Today, he would start his first year at Alfea, and he was about to be late if they didn’t get a move on soon._

_“Do you need any help with that?” Mera smirked at her son whose head tilted up to look at her from trying to rummage for his letter through his school bag, the letter which held instructions on where to go once he reached the campus as well as when he should meet with the head teacher for his schedule._

_Saul laughed as he responded, “Would you mind?” He handed her the bag as he checked the time and grabbed the toast that was on the kitchen table, placing it in his mouth to hold and rearranging the other items in his hands so he wouldn’t drop anything when he put the bag on his shoulder._

_Mera chuckled, handing him the letter and the bag after finding the piece of paper in one of the inner pockets._

_Saul slung the school bag over one shoulder as he smiled at his mother, “Thanks, Mum.”_

_She winked back at him with a smile, “Anytime,” she ruffled his hair, before remembering he didn’t like her doing that anymore. Not that he would ever show it to her. He had always been extremely careful about how he acted with her since her Jonathan had passed. Saul had always been respectful, but now it almost seemed as though he feared everything he said to her would be the last. It was as if he was always making sure she was with him, alive and not a ghost of his imagination. Most times, she was grateful to not have to deal with as many arguments as she knows she had with her parents when she was his age, but, in others, she wondered what it would be if Saul would let his thoughts show, if he would just tell her what was going through his mind._

_“Best get going,” she pushed his arm towards the door kindly, “Wouldn’t want to be late on the first day now would we?”_

_He saluted her as he walked through the door, “I’ll see you soon.”_

“Saul?” 

He turned to the voice that called him as he was pulled from his thoughts. Farah was looking at him expectantly, and he couldn’t for the life of him remember what she had said. 

“Hmm?” He asked her, a bit unnerved, but doing his best to hide it. He knew where he had seen that face before. _Mum._

“I asked if you were going to walk with Harmony to the pond for Specialist training while I meet with Bloom?” She looked at him, slightly strange expression on her face at his behavior. Though, he was sure it was deserved. He can only imagine how he looked right now, with all that was racing through his mind. 

“Of course,” He nodded to her, the best response he was able to give in that moment. 

“Alright,” she gave him a weird look before smiling at him as she walked away in the direction of the administrative hall. 

Once Farah had gone, Saul was left with his thoughts as he waited for Harmony to return, and all he could think about was that memory and the look Harmony had given them. It was a carbon copy of the look his mother used to give him.

_His mother._

He hadn’t seen her since he’d gone to Alfea to teach students for the year as Rosalind had ordered them, but she had known Farah. Of course she did, she was adamant she _had_ to meet all the friends he had made during his first year. And, of course, she had adored Farah, much to his best friend’s and his delight. The two got on so much, he would’ve thought that _she_ was her daughter and that Saul was the one who had to make an impression. Now, he was seeing in this world that his mother’s features had been passed down to a grandchild. _Farah’s and his child._

 _‘Harmony’s…mine’_ Saul thought right before a surge of elation and emotion flooded his system. _‘That means that in this world…Farah and I are together. It means that we’ve been together for…’_ he realized, as he considered the timeline, that it couldn’t have been much more than a year or so after the events outside of the barrier. 

Oh shit. 


End file.
